Promoting Organizational Innovation among Agricultural Extension Experts: The Role for Knowledge Management

Recently, innovation has become a very important issue, as it provides a strategic advantage for organizations to outperform competition and remain agile in the environment.  Additionally, knowledge management is considered to be a strong support for innovation. However, few studies examine the role of human resource management in fostering knowledge capability which leads more innovation in the organizations.  The purpose of this study was to examine the role of knowledge management components in organizational innovation among agricultural extension experts in Khuzestan Province. The statistical population of this study consisted of all agricultural extension experts in Khuzestan Province (N=328). Using Bartlett’s et al. (2001) sampling table, 130 of them were selected as a sample using the proportionate stratified random sampling method (n=130). The instrument of gathering data was a questionnaire that validity was confirmed by the panel of experts and its reliability was established by Cronbach's Alpha coefficient (α>0.70). The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that knowledge management components (knowledge creation, knowledge acquisition, knowledge storage and knowledge sharing and application) had positive significant effect on organizational innovation among agricultural extension experts in Khuzestan Province. The results emphasize the importance of knowledge management components to the success of innovation process in agricultural extension system.